What of the Children?
by ninjamonkeybutt
Summary: Father goes off his hinges. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, I don't own kids next door, just the insane ideas.

Father had woken ten minutes late and roasted his alarm clock because of it. As he threw on his fuzzy pink robe, he notices a giant rip in the seams, as well as a stain from a now emptied tub of rocky road ice cream. In a small fit of rage from this, as well as a creepy nightmare starring his quiet Constance as a mass murderer, he scorched his beloved robe. Seconds later, he is angrier since it is his favorite. He grudgingly walks to the kitchen and pauses to count heads. David is pouring cereal for an awaiting Lenny and Ashley. Bruce is already at the table, eating.

"Where's your sister?" He demands, anger and impatience clearly written in his voice.

The cereal keeps pouring as all four shoot their eyes to Father in surprise. After a small bout of awkward silence, they point their hands toward their shared bathroom.

"Her uniform split, Father." The unison reply.

David then realizes the box is empty and there are flakes on the floor. Lenny brushes off half his bowl to Ashley's. Father makes a move to find Constance but calls over his shoulder.

"That kitchen better be spotless when I get back."

Father had found Constance struggling to mend her outfit in a rush. He quirks an eyebrow, watching her work. Soon enough, he makes his presence known. She nearly jumps a mile in the air.

"How did your uniform rip?"

"I, err." She stumbles as she is speaking as an individual. "Combat."

Father lightly cringes then uses some of his fire to carefully mend the fringes. Constance involuntarily twitches against the heat, allowing it to burn a small portion beneath her neck. Father relents and Constance trembles as she faces Father.

"That burned." She mumbles quietly.

"Let that be a warning." He answers icily.

Father and Constance walk back through the house. The kitchen has been throughouly cleaned and the children are waiting at the front door. Constance joins them and the children leave for school. While the children are gone, Father and Monty receive a visit from their father. This only irritates Father more. Even worse, Grandfather starts taunting him, and calling him Li'l Benny. Father explodes in a mountain of fire, clutching the front of his own father's silhouette and shouting venomous curses to the demon. Monty flinches and Grandfather recoils, slightly impressed but more nervous.

Father seethes until Grandfather disappears. As the flames die down and Father returns to his regular size and frame, Monty begins to speak. Father does not want to hear it. He more or less carefully threatens to castrate his brother before stalking away. Father still has flames following his movements, as he is still very much livid. He attempts to cook a few things to calm his nerves, but he accidentally blows up his kitchen. He sets several rooms in the mansion on fire, eventually dousing them when he grew weary.

Three o'clock finally rolls around. His children should be getting home. Three-fifteen and no sign of them. Father's blood begins to boil. Three-thirty. Nada. He is tempted to snap his pipe in half, march to the school and wring a few necks. It is three-forty-five and the front door finally opens. The group of five are exhausted, with dirt and grime on their faces and uniforms.

"Where the hell have you five been?"

The kids jump at his voice. They hate it when Father curses, especially toward them. They are supposed to be his favorites, the only children he can stand. because they are delightful. A collective sigh escapes their lips.

"We had a plan. but the kids next dorks. defeated us."

They hang their heads in disappointment.

"Who?" He demands coldly. "Which individual of you had the plan? Who thought of it first?"

The kids slowly back away from Father, whose flames are eagerly enveloping the room - surrounding themselves and Father. They gulp shyly but fail to speak. David and Ashley look elsewhere. Lenny and Bruce discreetly look at Constance, who is finding fascination on the floor. As Father locks his sights on Constance, the flames grow higher and hotter.

"You." He speaks with icy disgust. "You tear your uniform, then create some moronic plan and execute it on a whim?"

"I'm-I'm sorry, Father. I, I won't-"

"Do it again? Damn straight." He answers angrily, advancing on them.

"Father?" Lenny shyly asks. "Have you been drinking?"

"Why the hell would you ask me that?" He snarls. "Yes, I have. It makes the fire so much more. deserving, don't you think?"

The five children nods in agreement, though shock and fear is evident on their faces. As it should be. "Y-y-y-yes, Father."

Father suddenly grabs one of Constance's pigtails, yanking her to his eye level. Tears form in her eyes. Her siblings struggle to say something but their words die on their lips. Father tosses her down in disgrace.

"You've ripped your uniform again. What good have you ever done for me?"

"I, I'm the top stu-student of the school. and I-I-I'm really good at hand-handling your robots." She trembles at the question and tone of his voice.

"Real good."

He answers with thick sarcasm before wrenching the girl's arm, yanking her back. He starts to inflame now, sending scorching pain across Constance's arm. It is severely burning and Constance is wailing. Her siblings are now shouting at Father but can't seem to move. Father growls.

"All of you, shut up."

Constance bites her tongue as Father releases and she falls to the floor. He remains in flames as he swiftly kicks his child, in her throat and her stomach. Constance rolls rover and coughs up a little blood. Lenny is the first to break formation. He scrambles to his knees to comfort his sister. Father merely walks up to his second tallest child and harshly yanks off the helmet. It causes some discomfort.

"Next of you to fall out of formation or enter my office to comfort Constance." He throws Lenny out the door and shoves the others along, as he walks out and locks the door. "There will be severe consequences."

To prove his point, he lights Lenny's helmet on fire and strikes said boy in the side of his head. He drops the headgear beside his child. It had scratched a bit below the surface and some blood was now cut from Lenny's head and dribbling on his helmet. The children are shocked from absolute terrified fear. Father allows more flames to surround him as he leans eerily into his other children's faces.

"Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes, Father."

Um. review? 


	2. Chapter 2

Glad you like it, Basketballer43. Here's hoping I didn't go too overboard with chapter 2.

Father had since left in the limo, going who-knows-where, leaving the children behind with various chores. As they make rounds, they come across Lenny. He still isn't moving and sickening gulps threaten the others. David addresses the children in front of him.

"He's hurt us. What's to stop him from killing us?"

"We need to find help." Ashley agrees.

"From who?" Bruce questions. "No one likes us."

"Except Father." Ashley mutters.

"Kids Next Door." David whispers.

The children continue, trying to get the images of their fallen siblings out of their minds. They don't dare move toward either to find a trace of a pulse. The children work in silence for the next three hours. At seven-fifteen, David breaks away from the other two while working on homework. He places an idea in their hive mind, that he is simply finished and going ito take a shower. In general, Constance usually finishes first. Then David, Lenny... Ashley and Bruce regularly finish around the same time.

David goes to the bathroom and runs water like an obedient child following a routine. As the water runs, however, he dresses down and sneaks out the window. He climbs from the mansion and sneaks down to the KND treehouse. Given the time, only one operative should be manning a post. David quickly and quietly shuts off all power, so as not to draw unwanted attention. A girlish gasp is heard from the house and David instantly knows who it is.

He pulls out a grappling hook from his ninja-like costume and pulls himself to the main bridge. The asian girl in the long green shirt stands at the ready with a Rainbow Monkey launcher... pretty much the only functioning 2x4 technology that is usable without electricity. She stares blankly, trying to decide if the figure is friend or foe.

"I've come for help, Kuki."

She lowers her weapon and moves closer to get a better look at the boy. David removes the headpiece, revealing his long brown bangs. They are lightly brushed to the side so Kuki can see the desperate fear in his eyes.

"... Delightful Child?" She gasps. "Why do you need my help?"

"David. My name is David. Kuki, it's Father. Something's happened."

"Is he sick?"

"No, Kuki." He comes closer with a pleading tone of voice. "I think Father is trying to kill us."

"But... But you're his kids! That doesn't make sense, silly."

"Listen to me. Lenny isn't moving and Constance... we haven't seen her in hours."

"He... he attacked you?"

David avoids eye contact and solemnly nods. "Please, Kuki. I need to get back. Tell the other operatives. Please."

David propels down and dashes back to the mansion. The limo is back and David's heart begins to race. He grabs the treehouse's water hose and douses himself quickly as he runs. He scales the large building, keeping a careful watch of his fuming Father. From one window, said man has his back facing - with Ashley and Bruce in pajamas carefully talking with him. David nearly loses his footing and Father starts to turn at the noise. Bruce quickly latches onto Father's arm and the man grips the boy's shoulder with the other. David finally scrambles into the bathroom window and changes into the footie pajamas he had brought in with him earlier. He shuts off the water and dries up the room in a rush. Taking a deep breath, he opens the door and ventures down the hall.

"What the hell have you been doing in there?" Father snarls, glaring at his tallest.

"T-Taking a shower, Father. I, I lost track of time."

Father eyes him suspiciously then quickly turns on his heel. "Don't let it happen again."

Back in their room, the children turn on a white noise machine and speak in hushed tones.

"Where were you?" Bruce demands, holding a hand to the strangled scorch mark on his shoulder.

"The treehouse. I saw Kuki."

"Did you," Ashley wonders. "Did you tell her?"

David nods. "I'm not sure if she believed me, though."

Meanwhile, right when David had left, Kuki signaled for the rest of her sector to come over. Wally was heading to take a shower; Abby was reading in the living room trying to ignore Cree's glares and her mother's happy humming. Hoagie was finishing supper and Nigel was picking out his bed clothes. All four recognize the severity call and race to their operative outfits, taking passages to the treehouse. Once there, they find Kuki in tears and confusion.

"What is it, Numbuh Three?" Nigel asks hesitantly.

She looks up to them with a perplexed emotion. "Does Father love his kids?"

"Huh?" The four give collective bouts of confusion to nearly match hers.

"Numbuh Five s'poses so. He wanted those delightful brats and he got 'em."

"But... he hurts them. They're still kids, right? Shouldn't we help them?"

"Help them?" Wally almost shouts but is cut off by Nigel.

"What do you mean he hurts them?"

"David came over a little while ago. And he was scared. He said his brother wasn't moving and they haven't seen his sister in a while."

"He was probably just playing you." Hoagie informs her.

"I don't think so, Numbuh Two." She sighs sadly.

"What gave you the impression he was telling you the truth, Numbuh Three?" Nigel asks.

"He looked really scared and... there was a burn on his face. By his mouth."

"Father is burning his children!?" Numbuh One shudders. "I don't care if they are the Delightful Children. We have to save them."

The rest of the team mutters their agreements... even Numbuh Four, knowing how bad fire hurts. The kids arm themselves and set out for the mansion. Their plan is to infiltrate the house, rescue the children and leave before Father awakens.

Father is already awake. He can't seem to sleep. He instead sits up in bed against the cold red sheets made of fireproof silk. Everything in his room his fireproof, as he sometimes has a tendency to light on fire in the midst of his sleep - much better than a waterbed. He is toying with a special revolver he had purchased on his outing. Instead of bullets, the ammunition relies on fireballs. He will never run out.

Father loads his weapon with six and practices his aim with several pictures hanging on the wall and a stuffed animal dragon which his children had won for him at a fair when they had barely been delightfulized only a week. He watches with eerie enraged power, then reloads and aims again.

The delightfuls can hear the thumps and crackling from Father's room but make no move toward him. Lenny is waking. There is serious blood loss from his head appearing on the white of his helmet. He merely holds the helmet in his arms and carefully crawls to his room shared by the others. He is scared of Father.

A sudden noise disrupts the silence and Lenny freezes. Three kids suddenly fall from an above air vent and land directly in front of him. One is wearing a red cap, one has aviator goggles and the other has reflecting shades.

"Kids Next Door." Lenny greets shakily.

"Are you okay?" Numbuh Five asks, pointing to his head.

"Father hit me with my helmet." Lenny explains matter-of-factly. "Why are you here?"

"David warned Numbuh Three of your predicament." Numbuh One says. "We're here to help."

"If Father wakes, we'll all be in trouble."

"We'll come to that when we cross it." Numbuh Two gives as an answer. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know. I just woke up. But last I saw of Constance, she was knocked out. Locked in Father's office." He points to the double doors.

"Numbuh Two, take Lenny and find the other delightfuls. Numbuh Five and I will find Constance."  



End file.
